Every Yard Needs One of These

If you've been to our house, you've probably seen the wind-bent pepper tree in the far corner of our side yard. You may not know that there was a tree very much like this one in the front yard of my childhood home in Pedley. That tree was different, however. It had a tree house, carefully constructed by the boy across the street and me. His name was Richard Isaac. He was a few years older than I and shortly after we finished the tree house, he lost interest in it. I did not. It was my fort, my hideaway, my resort and my thinking place. When I was sixteen, we moved away.

At the beginning of summer this year, I examined the tree in our yard here and decided it would be just right for my second tree house. I placed a couple of old two-by-fours in its lower branches, telling myself I'd get around to finishing the job after our family reunion in July. Whenever I'd pass by the tree in August or September or October, I'd remind myself that I ought to get working on it before Thanksgiving, and then here it was Christmas, and I hadn't done a thing on it.

Last Monday, my daughter Sara and her husband Brian brought their four kids to visit us for a week and share Christmas with us. On Tuesday, Brian spied the pepper tree and asked about the lumber he saw. I told him what I had intended to do. His eyes lit up, he grinned, and he said, "Let's do it!"

And do it he did! He surveyed, he measured, he cut and he nailed for two days.

Keaton and Shelby and Weston and Katie helped. My role was to supply the project with parts and tools.

We all love the finished product. Brian calls it his Christmas present. I call it my everything present!

SPOKT.com - For us and for you!

For the past few years, our large family has been using a fun website called SPOKT to stay in touch, on-line. Our son Dan and his friend Ron set up SPOKT so we all could have our own private little “hub” where each family shares news, photos and videos of each other. We also post recipes, book and movie reviews and family history. SPOKT is so popular with all of us that it is one of the first things we check whenever we log onto the Internet. If we are away for just a day, we often find dozens of new postings when we return. It has become a wonderful way for us to stay in touch. Most of our married kids have set up separate SPOKT hubs for their spouses' side of the family, too. Even our grandchildren have their own hub (monitored by Aunt Rachel). Unlike some of the big “social networking” sites, SPOKT hubs are private and they don’t bombard you with ads. In fact, they don't have any. There are free sites available, but for a very reasonable fee, you can get a lot more space.

We invite you to become a SPOKT-person, too. You will be happy you did. Click here to keep in touch with your family privately online. You'll be on your way to a closer family! What could be better?

Rules Made by Men ... for Women

The following was forwarded to me by someone to whom it had been forwarded by someone ... (you get the picture), but I found it so applicable that I chance posting it here:

(Please note... These rules are all numbered "1" 
on purpose)

1. Men are not mind readers.


1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
 You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
 You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

 


1. Crying is blackmail.



1. Ask for what you want. 
Let us be clear on this one: 
Subtle hints do not work.
 Strong hints do not work.
 Obvious hints do not work, 
Just say it.

1. "Yes" and "No" are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.



1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. 
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.



1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. 
Don't ask us.



1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one 
.


1. You can either ask us to do something, or tell us how you want it done. 
Not both. 
If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.



1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.



1. All men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
 Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color..Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.



1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.



1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. 
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle. 



1. When we have to go somewhere together, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really . 



1. You have enough clothes.



1. You have too many shoes.



1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!



1. Thank you for reading this.
 Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; 

But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping. 



Almost On Top of The World

On Monday this week, I replaced my four year old laptop computer because it had had developed some annoying and oppressive problems and was no longer reliable. It had become very slow and was randomly losing data, probably because the hard drive is full, and the compact disk /digital video disk drive wasn’t functioning. The new computer has a 13” display, better battery, faster processor, more memory and a much larger hard drive. It is also smaller and lighter than its predecessor:



The reason I mention this all this is that it seems to be a convenient segue to a notion I have that I may be far too dependent on these computing machines. I mean, as tools they are marvelous, but I believe I have become emotionally attached to mine. I do not notice this obsession until my computer fails to work right or does not work at all. Then I become morose and edgy, ill at ease and even slightly depressed. Am I really that tied to its data and document files? I suppose so, because I am feeling much better today. Now, just as soon as I can get the new Windows partition that my son Dan installed last night to recognize the new CD/DVD drive, I will be on top of the world!

Idyllic Interlude

Maureen and I spent a couple of hours at our beach late this afternoon, in our folding chairs, reading novels, while noisy waves washed the sand in the background and the sun began its daily descent into the western horizon. A black bird lit on my cap for a moment before realizing its mistake and flitting to the lawn in front of us. Half a dozen sea gulls eyed us patiently, several feet away from where we were seated, hoping, I suppose, for a late lunch from us. Two very small, brown-skinned children, one completely naked, splashed and frolicked in a large pool of salt water left behind by the receding tide. I love living near where the land and sea meet. The sound of the surf always seems to soothe my soul.

"Get Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks!"

We found a message on our answering machine tonight - "Hi, Mom and Dad. This is Amy. Averey was just wondering if Cracker Jacks were invented when you guys were little. Were they around then?"

My Dear Averey, Yes, Craker Jacks were invented when we were little. They were a favorite treat. Every box used to have a nice prize inside, like toys, whistles, compasses and so forth. Cracker Jacks were also very popular at baseball games.





Cracker Jacks have been around since 1893 when a man named Frederick William Rueckheim (known to friends and family as "Fritzl") and his brother Louis sold it at the first Chicago World's Fair. At the time, it was a mixture of popcorn, molasses, and peanuts and was called "Candied Popcorn and Peanuts".

Cracker Jacks are older than us! Love, Grandpa and Grandma Hixon

Wand for Averey Michelle (Hermione) Foote

A few weeks ago our nine year-old granddaughter Averey visited us, along with her Dad and Mom, sisters and brother. During our Family Home Evening I gave her a small plastic baton to use while she led us in singing our opening and closing songs. The baton had been used by her grandmother a long time ago in a hymnology class at Brigham Young University. A couple of days later, Averey asked if I would make a wand for her. She didn't want to lead music with it ... she wanted to cast spells! She and her brother were playing "Harry Potter." I agreed. It took me several days to find an appropriate piece of vine wood, but I did, attached to the pepper tree in our back yard. I stripped the wood of its green bark, sanded and sealed it, and applied several coats of dark stain and protective varnish. The core is made of dragon heart strings, so it ought to work:

Just call me Mr. Olivander of Diagon Alley.